10/20/2010

Recipe: Gravad lax

Gravad lax - cured salmon with dill - is a great favourite in Scandinavia. Terribly fresh and clean-tasting, this healthy dish makes a sophisticated starter, and being able to say 'I made it myself' gives you innumerable smug points (don't be coy, we all know they exist).

Best bit is, it's very very very easy. And I don't say that in a Yotam Ottolenghi just-take-15-ingredients kind of way, or a Nigella just-pick-up-these-jasmin-stamens-from-your-local-supplier either. It's more a 4-ingredients-no-cooking-or-measuring-for-a-normal-person thing. And now my hyphen key is wearing out, so on with the recipe.

1. Get a big piece of salmon or trout, skin on. Fresh as you can. Cut it in half.

2. Mix some coarse-grained salt (or any salt you can find) and mix it with an equal part caster sugar.

3. Put one fish half on a big bit of greaseproof paper. Chuck some of the salt/sugar over it (enough to cover all the surface without mounds), then fistfuls of dill.

4. Chuck some salt/sugar on the other piece, then lay it on top like an enormous raw fish sandwich.

5. Wrap it up tightly with the paper, then clingfilm. Put a weight on if you like a denser texture, but it's not necessary. Leave it in the fridge for 12-48 hours. Longer will make it denser and saltier. I'd recommend about 24.

6. Slice thinly (off the skin, obviously). If you like, you can try the Finnish trick of crisping up the salmon skin and eating it, thinly sliced, with the gravad lax. I always do this with salmon skin, and I suspect the salt-cure makes it even better, so it's highly recommended. But make sure to scale your fish first.